HELP! What Are The 'Big Stories' Of 2013?

Well, I'm headed off to Europe again for the 18-hour-a-day annual
schmoozefest known as "Davos" (with a prior stop in Munich for
DLD).

The folks who run Davos, the World Economic Forum, have been kind
enough to stick me on a couple of panels this year--so I can
bloviate to world leaders.

I would prefer not to make an ass of myself in front of world
leaders, so I would be grateful for a little help.

One of the topics I've been asked to bloviate about this year is
"What Are The Big Stories Of 2013?"

In other words, what will we in the news media be obsessed with
over the next 12 months?

Well, I'm in the news media, and I can tell you that I haven't
the faintest idea what we're going to be obsessed with, and I
won't know until we get obsessed with it.

But I can't say that to the world leaders.

(The world leaders are paying good money to sit there and listen
to me bloviate, so I need to do better than that.)

So please help me think of some good candidates for the "big
stories of 2013."

I'll start off with a couple of ideas. Please add some more in
the comments below.

THE BIG STORIES OF 2013:

* INEQUALITY: THE WORLD'S MIDDLE CLASS GETS MAD AS HELL
AND REFUSES TO TAKE IT ANYMORE. The world's richer
are getting richer and the world's middle class and poor are
getting the shaft. This story has been going on for years now,
ever since the labor-vs.-capital pendulum swung too far in favor
of "capital" and all fo the good middle class jobs got shipped
off to China, India, and other countries where people are eager
to work much harder than Americans for much less money. You can't
blame companies for taking advantage of this massive labor pool,
and the folks in China, India, et al, have as much right to work
as anyone else does. But the upshot is that all the income gains
in America and some other developed countries are going to the
top ~5% of wage-earners and everyone else is losing ground.
That's not a trend that will lead to peace, harmony, and
prosperity.

* APPLE BECOMES AVERAGE: Over the past decade,
Apple has risen from the ashes to become the
world's most beloved and valuable companies. Now, however, with
the loss of Steve Jobs, Apple is losing its product edge,
and the stock is starting to sell off. This year will usher in
what will truly be the "post-Steve Jobs era" for Apple. And
depending on how this year goes, Apple will demonstrate that it
is capable of continue to be transcendent in Steve's absence...or
it will gradually slip into just becoming another good company.